2012 CMA Nominations

They’re out!  What are your thoughts on this year’s CMA nominations?  Discuss in the comments section.

Entertainer of the Year 

Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift

Female Vocalist of the Year

Kelly Clarkson
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist of the Year

Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

Vocal Group of the Year

The Band Perry
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year

Big & Rich
Love and Theft
Sugarland
The Civil Wars
Thompson Square

New Artist of the Year

Lee Brice
Brantley Gilbert
Hunter Hayes
Love and Theft
Thompson Square

Album of the Year (Awarded to artist and producer)

Luke Bryan, Tailgates and Tanlines – Produced by Jeff Stevens and Mark Bright

Eric Church, Chief – Produced by Jay Joyce

Miranda Lambert, Four the Record – Produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf

Dierks Bentley, Home – Produced by Brett Beavers, Luke Wooten, and Jon Randall Stewart

Lady Antebellum, Own the Night  – Produced by Paul Worley and Lady Antebellum

Song of the Year (Awarded to songwriters)

Eli Young Band, “Even if It Breaks Your Heart” – Will Hoge and Eric Paslay

Blake Shelton, “God Gave Me You” – Dave Barnes

Dierks Bentley, “Home” – Dierks Bentley, Dan Wilson and Brett Beavers

Miranda Lambert, “Over You” – Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton

Eric Church, “Springsteen” – Eric Church, Jeff Hyde and Ryan Tyndell

Single of the Year (Awarded to artist and producer)

Jason Aldean, “Dirt Road Anthem” – Produced by Michael Knox

Blake Shelton, “God Gave Me You” – Produced by Scott Hendricks

Dierks Bentley, “Home” – Produced by Brett Beavers and Luke Wooten

Little Big Town, “Pontoon” – Produced by Jay Joyce

Eric Church, “Springsteen” – Produced by Jay Joyce

Musical Event of the Year

“Dixie Highway,” Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band

“Feel Like a Rock Star,” Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw

“Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die,” Willie Nelson featuring Snoop Dogg, Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson

“Safe and Sound,” Taylor Swift featuring the Civil Wars

“Stuck on You,” Lionel Richie and Darius Rucker

Music Video of the Year (Awarded to artist and director)

Eric Church, “Springsteen” – Directed by Peter Zavadil

Kenny Chesney, “Come Over” – Directed by Shaun Silva

Miranda Lambert, “Over You” – Directed by Trey Fanjoy

Little Big Town, “Pontoon” – Directed by Declan Whitebloom

Toby Keith, “Red Solo Cup” – Directed by Michael Salomon

Musician of the Year

Sam Bush
Paul Franklin
Dann Huff
Brent Mason
Mac McAnally

 

Dierks Bentley – “Tip It On Back”

Songwriters:  Ross Copperman, Tully Kennedy, Jon Nite

There’s nothing wrong with a good party song.  They can be quite enjoyable.  But they’re also very prone to being done to death after a while.  When three of the four singles from your current album are all party songs that sound more or less the same, you’ve got a problem.

“Tip It On Back” offers nothing new that we haven’t already heard many times from Dierks Bentley.  It’s the same old book with a brand new cover.  It’s a little more grating than “5-1-5-0,” but not quite as punch-yourself-in-the-face bad as “Am I the Only.”  It’s near the same notch on the scale as “Sideways,” minus the cringe-worthy barroom singalong.  The hook is mediocre and forgettable.  The melody is flat and monotonous.  The production is chunky and flavorless.

At the very least, “Tip It On Back” will serve as Bentley’s placeholder on radio playlists until he gets something better out, but he can do much better than this, and he has so many times.  Here’s hoping he can find/write some better material soon, and do some branching out in theme and content.  Dierks Bentley is too talented to be pigeonholing himself like this.

DIERKS’ SCORE:  4
(Scores are given on a scale of 1 to 10)

HEAR IT

 

Dierks Bentley – “5-1-5-0”

Songwriters:  Dierks Bentley, Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers

For all the great heights Dierks Bentley has achieved with his best material, it’s almost amazing how tasteless his up-tempo hits can be when attempting to tap into the party crowd demographic.  At the very best, “5-1-5-0” is not as grating as over-the-top predecessors such as “Sideways” or “Am I the Only One.”  The production is surprisingly clutter-free this time around, while including the generous touches of bluegrass-flavored instrumentation that Bentley’s records have often utilized.

Even then, the problem remains that “5-1-5-0” doesn’t quite rise above the contrived paint-by-number feel that has plagued many of Bentley’s previous efforts in this vein.  A noteworthy problem is that the song builds its hook around a concept that, in all likelihood, relatively few listeners will understand.  For those who don’t know, “5-1-5-0” is the California Police Code for an insane person, which the song ineffectively attempts to stretch into a metaphor picturing a man driven crazy with infatuation over a woman he has met, while cheesy references to calling “the po-po” sound just plain hokey.

Though it shows some relative good taste in certain areas (and mercificully does not end in a canned barroom singalong chorus a la “Sideways”), “5-1-5-0” lacks the intangible spark needed to truly capture the good-time, escapist vibe that it aims for.  Thus, it ultimately comes across as little more than mediocre radio filler.

DIERKS’ SCORE:  5
(Scores are given on a scale of 1 to 10)

 

CD Giveaway: The Music Inside – A Collaboration Dedicated to Waylon Jennings, Volume II

Who’s ready for another contest?  I know I am.

This February will mark the ten-year anniversary of the death of the legendary Waylon Jennings.  On February 7, the new Waylon Jennings tribute album The Music Inside:  A Collaboration Dedicated to Waylon Jennings, Volume II will be released.  The eleven-track collection includes contributions from the likes of Dierks Bentley, Hank Williams, Jr., Montgomery Gentry, and Jewel, among others, plus Jennings’ widow Jessi Colter and son Shooter.

The 1-to-10 Country Music Review has two copies on reserve to ship off to two readers, courtesy of Girilla Marketing.  To enter to win, simply leave a comment below answering this one question:  What made Waylon Jennings a great artist?  Or if that question is a bit too heavy, I’d be glad to hear what your favorite Jennings songs are instead.

The deadline for eligible comment submission Saturday, February 4.  Comments must include a valid email address so that I can contact you if you win (Your email address will not be shared publicly).  In the case of users posting multiple comments, only the first comment will be considered eligible.  Two winners will be chosen with the aid of a random number generator.  After the deadline, I will post a comment announcing the winners.